Of Boggarts and What Ifs
by Ella Bridi
Summary: A glimpse of Harry and Hermione's friendship. A heartfelt conversation about Boggarts and what ifs.


_A/N: I just want to warn you that although it's a conversation between Harry and Hermione, this is NOT a HHr story._

_This is my first fan fiction ever, and I couldn't have done it without my wonderful beta-reader, dogstar-ebony._

_Reviews will be highly appreciated!_

**Disclaimer: unfortunately, I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters.**

**OF BOGGARTS AND WHAT IF'S**

When Harry arrived at The Burrow that afternoon, he was surprised by the unusual stillness that surrounded the house. Ginny was still at Hogwarts, finishing her seventh year, and wouldn't be home for a couple of weeks. Still, Harry and Hermione could be found there on an almost everyday basis, enjoying Mrs. Weasley's meals before returning to their respective flats. Just as he had expected, Harry walked into the living room to find Hermione with a book propped on her knees.

"Hey! Ron's not home yet?" Harry asked, sitting down.

"No, he's at the joke shop with George," Hermione answered without taking her eyes away from her book. Ignoring the fact that she was still reading, Harry carried on talking, just like he had always done since their first year at Hogwarts.

"And how was your day?"

"Fine," she shrugged. "What about you? Still having fake conversations with Ginny inside your head?"

This time, Hermione closed her book and stared at her friend, trying to see the answer in his eyes before she could actually hear it.

"No," he muttered quickly, and then, when she raised her eyebrows sceptically, added with a little more conviction, "Not that much anymore… you?"

"Nah, it's not Ginny's, the voice inside my head," she answered mockingly.

"Whose voice is it, then?" Harry asked, pretending he hadn't understood his friend's attempt at a joke.

"Dunno…" Hermione said, staring at the floor, as if trying to find a proper answer. "It depends. Sometimes, I can still hear Professor McGonagall's voice," she concluded, rolling her eyes to herself. "Do you remember my Boggart back in our third year?" She asked, her eyes glowing with nostalgia, as if it had happened a hundred years ago.

"Hah, yeah," Harry let out a strangled noise, as though he couldn't decide between laughing and answering her so had opted for a strange hybrid of the two. Staring blankly at the floor, his face took on that simultaneous softening and frowning that occurs only when long-forgotten memories are recalled once more.

"It's funny, isn't it?" Hermione mumbled, awaking him from his reverie. Harry frowned.

"What?"

"How naive we were… I mean, after all we've been through, you'd expect that I had something real to fear…" Hermione was being so evasive that she didn't sound like her old self.

"You did, Hermione. It's just that you hadn't exactly faced Voldemort. You weren't there when Riddle came out of that diary. And although I strongly believe that you were concerned about me and the rest of the Wizarding World, I reckon that deep down, not getting top grades were the only real thing you actually believed that could happen to you. Because, back then, Voldemort was just a problem you were helping me to solve".

"Huh!" Hermione said with a snort. "And you guys keep saying I'm the smart one."

She was reopening her book when Harry suddenly spoke up. "What do you reckon it'd be now?"

"What?" And with a frown, she asked, "My Boggart?" To which Harry only nodded.

"Dunno… being back at the war, I'd say. Watching you lying down on the Great Hall's floor and never getting up again." She inhaled and continued, "Losing the hope of living in a free world." A few seconds went by before she continued. "Watching Ron leaving one more time… losing him…"

At this point, Hermione's voice was getting weaker; at the same time her cheeks were burning a shade of pink, which increased furiously when she caught a sad smile dancing on Harry's lips.

"Cheesy, I know… but I still have nightmares about it," she mumbled, slightly shaking her head as if trying to make the images of her dreams fade away.

"That's OK. I do too, sometimes," Harry said, staring at his own hands.

Awkward silences are painful enough when they happen between strangers, but when it happens between friends, especially ones who have travelled to hell and back together, they are even harder to endure. And so they sat there, each second that passed feeling like a very long hour. Hermione was desperately trying to find words to put an end to it, but there was still one question on Harry's mind, one that had occurred to him during the hunt for the Horcruxes and had haunted him ever since. And he knew that if he let this moment slip away, he would never have the chance to ask it again.

So, as he saw Hermione open her mouth, he spoke quickly, knowing that she would change the subject to something mundane just to fill the silence, and knowing equally that if she did this, there would be no way of slotting this question in again.

"Do you ever wonder what your life would've been like if you'd not accepted your Hogwarts letter?"

"I reckon I wouldn't be here right now, would I?" She quickly answered with fake sarcasm, trying to avoid another uncomfortable topic.

"You know what I mean." Harry couldn't hide the tone of impatience on his voice. "You'd have never been caught in the middle of all of this. You wouldn't have had to worry about the future of mankind – and best friends alike, wouldn't have had to change your parents memories. Wouldn't have had to drop school to try and find foul pieces of a soul". It was then that they finally looked into each other's eyes.

"Yes, I have," she stated, and then looked away. "Especially when I was wearing that bloody necklace." She seemed to be measuring her words. "But choosing to be a Muggle wouldn't change the fact that Voldemort was trying to come back, would it? And I can't bear the idea of doing nothing about it. And who knows? Maybe my parents and I would end up being caught up in the middle of it anyway. Lots of innocent Muggles did."

As Harry opened his mouth to retort, Hermione added. "Besides, I don't like to imagine my life without magic, and most importantly, without you and Ron. I think I would always feel this hole inside of me and never knowing what that was."

"Not to mention that, without you, Ron and I would have been pretty much screwed up back in our first year already," Harry said laughing.

"Not to mention that," Hermione raised her eyebrows, but she had a smile reaching her eyes.

"Thanks for believing in Dumbledore, Hermione," Harry said, getting up and pulling her into a hug.

She looked up at him and answered with a broad grin, "Thanks for letting me help to save the world, Harry."

"You're welcome. You're most definitely welcome, Hermione".

And with one last smile, they felt silent, and Hermione went back to her book.


End file.
